Heart Valve Replacement Health Article

Risks

Complications following heart valve replacement are not common, but can be serious. All valves made from animal tissue will develop calcium deposits over time. If these deposits hamper the function of the valve, it must be replaced. Valves may become dislodged. Blood clots may form on the surface of the substitute valve, break off into the general circulation, and become wedged in an artery supplying blood to the brain, kidneys, or legs. These blood clots may cause fainting spells, stroke, kidney failure, or loss of circulation to the legs. These blood clots can be treated with drugs or surgery.

Infection of heart muscle affects up to 2% of patients who have heart valve replacement. Such an infection is treated with intravenous antibiotics. If the infection persists, the new valve may have to be replaced.

Normal results

Few patients die as a result of the surgery. Approximately 3% of all patients die during or immediately after heart valve replacement, and less than 1% of patients below the age of 65 die because of the operation. The vast majority of patients who have heart valve replacement return to normal activity after the surgery. Depending on the type of valve they receive, these patients will have no symptoms of valve abnormality for at least seven years. Also, their quality of life will improve because they may no longer have difficulty breathing, fainting spells, or palpitations.

BOOKS

American Heart Association. American Heart Association's Your Heart: An Owner's Manual. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1991.

Schlant, Robert C., and Alexander, R. Wayne, eds. The Heart, Arteries and Veins. 18th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, Inc., 1994.

Texas Heart Institute. Texas Heart Institute Heart Owner's Handbook. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1996. The Surgery Book: An Illustrated Guide to 73 of the Most Common Operations. Ed. Robert M. Younson, et al. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1993.

ORGANIZATIONS

The American College of Cardiology. 9111 Old Georgetown Road, Bethesda, MD 20814. (800) 253-4636. <http://www.acc.org>.

American College of Surgeons. 55 E. Erie St., Chicago, IL 60611. (312) 202-5000. <http://www.facs.org>.

American Heart Association. 7320 Greenville Ave. Dallas, TX 75231. (214) 373-6300. <http://www.americanheart.org>.

Karen Marie Sandrick

KEY TERMS

Anticoagulants—Drugs that prevent blood clots from forming.

Aortic valve—A fold in the channel leading from the aorta to the left ventricle of the heart. The aortic valve directs blood flow that has received oxygen from the lungs to the aorta which transmits blood to the rest of the body.

Cardiac catheterization—A thin tube called a catheter is inserted into an artery or vein in the leg, groin or arm. The catheter tube is carefully threaded into the area of the heart needing surgical repair. A local anaesthesia is used at the insertion sites.

Cardiopulmonary bypass machine—A mechanical instrument that takes over the circulation of the body while heart surgery is taking place.

Echocardiography—A diagnostic instrument that assesses the structure of the heart using sound waves.

Electrocardiography—A diagnostic instrument that evaluates the function of the heart by measuring the electrical activity generated by the beating of the heart.

Mitral valve—A fold in between the left atrium and the left ventricle of the heart that directs blood that has received oxygen from the lungs to the aortic valve and the aorta.

Pulmonic valve—A fold in the pulmonary artery that directs blood to the lungs. It may be transferred to replace a severely diseased aortic valve during heart valve replacement surgery for aortic stenosis.

Tricuspid valve—A fold in between the right atrium and the right ventricle of the heart that directs blood that needs oxygen to the lungs.